


After All This Time

by rosescooper



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: AU, F/F, Wayhaught - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-04-18 08:59:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14209692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosescooper/pseuds/rosescooper
Summary: AU set after the season 2 finale. Waverly and Nicole left Purgatory and moved to the west coast. They took Alice in and raised her together. After being together for almost 6 years they split up (Alice is now 4) and a few years later Waverly starts a life with someone new.However, fate seems to have other plans for the two of them.This fic is set 8 years after they broke up.





	1. Part One.

**Author's Note:**

> I really like writing future AU's and I really hope you enjoy this short multi-chap, I will upload it twice a week.  
> Let me know how you like it :)

 

* * *

**Part One.**

* * *

 

She almost bumped into the woman in front of her as she moved forward in the queue while looking at her phone. 

“Oh, sorry!“ She looked up and smiled apologetically. The woman in front of her nodded it off and turned back around, taking a step forward to distance herself from her.

She put her phone away as she realized it was almost her turn and impatiently looked around. She had been late for work at least three times already this week, a fourth time wouldn’t look good considering it was a new job. 

“Next? - Next!“ The man at the other side of the counter seemed to be having a bad day himself, so she hurried up, ordering her coffee and a bagel which she most likely wouldn’t end up eating anyways. 

“Thanks.“ She said, taking the paper bag in one hand and the cup in the other. She stopped before reaching the door, sighing as she realised she’d picked up the wrong cup. 

“Nora? Is here a Nora?“ She looked around, trying to find the rightful owner of the cup.

“Yes, hi, I think that’s us.“ She turned around to face a young woman who looked just as tired as she felt. The kid next to her smiled brightly and reached out for the cup. 

“I’m sorry.“ She smiled and gave them the cup, surprised at the kid being so open with her right away. 

“Thanks.“ The little girl smiled again and took a sip out of the cup. The mother laughed and put her hand out. 

“Leah, this is Nora, my daughter.“ They shook hands and Nora nodded as to reinforce what her mother had just said. “And you were just about to drink hot chocolate.“

“Oh!“ She laughed and looked at the cup. “Wouldn’t have had the same effect as coffee“ 

“No.“ Leah laughed and looked at her for a bit without saying a word.

“Oh, I’m sorry! Nicole.“ The redhead smiled shyly and shook her head. “I’ve had a long couple of days, sorry. I’m not usually like this. I just moved here and it’s been crazy.“ 

Leah nodded and motioned towards the counter. “Maybe you should try to find your coffee, you seem like you need it.“

“Yeah! Right, I do.“ Nicole smiled and stood there for a few moments before nodding and moving back towards the counter. 

“It was nice meeting you.“ She smiled again as she walked away from Leah and Nora, trying to find the right cup with her much needed coffee.

“Nicole!“ She turned around to see Leah walking towards her. “How about dinner at ours? My wife loves to cook and since you’re new in town I’m sure you’d like some company?“ 

It took her a few seconds to process that a complete stranger was being that caring and open to her. 

“That’s a lovely invitation, thank you.“ She finally said. 

“Great! How about tonight? Here, give me your number and I’ll text you the address.“ Leah smiled, handing Nicole her phone to put in her number.

“Yeah…Thank you, Leah. That’s really kind“ Nicole looked at the time again, giving Leah back her phone after putting in her number. “I’m so sorry, I’m late for work. I will definitely see you tonight though, thank you.“

Leah nodded, quickly hugging Nicole as she rushed out of the coffee shop.

 

“Detective Johnson, you’re late. Again.“ Nicole rushed to her desk and put down her cup.

“I know, Sir. I’m sorry. Won’t happen again.“

“I’ve heard that before, Johnson. Last warning?“

“Thank you, Sir.“ Nicole nodded and sat down, watching her captain go back into his office and close the door.

“Way to go, Johnson.“ A voice from the side uttered, followed by a quiet laughter.

“Shut up, Lawrence.“ Nicole shook her head at her new partner and tried to concentrate on the work in front of her. 

She had been having enough bad days without her new and always happy partner breathing down her neck, telling her off for being late. 

The past few months had been simply too much, with her divorce, the moving, and the new job. The last thing she needed was a young detective with a perfect life shoving it all in her face.

At least she had made a new friend. A friend whose life seemed perfect as well, not falling apart into a million pieces like hers. Nevertheless, she had made a friend.

 

The wind was forcing the rain against her windows, making the glass tremble. It couldn’t have been a worse evening to leave the apartment and go socialize. Her day had been beyond hell and she wasn’t really in a “meeting-new-people“ kind of mood. 

“Damn it!“ She rushed out of the bathroom, scanning the living room for her shoes and phone. She found one, then the other, and quickly made her way out of her apartment while still slipping on one of her boots. “Why did you agree to this, damn it Nicole.“ She cursed herself, grabbing her keys as she opened the door and took one last look around to make sure she wasn’t forgetting anything.

It was a quick ride through town to get to the address Leah had sent her hours prior to it. She parked the car right in front of the building and stormed from her car to the main entrance in an attempted to not get completely soaked by the rain. 

“Stirling, Stirling…“ She searched the doorbells for the right name.

“Hello?“ A young girl’s voice answered the bell and Nicole froze for a second. “Who’s there?“

“Nicole, I’m a friend of your mum’s.“ 

“Third floor.“ Silence. Then the door buzzed open and Nicole slipped into the dry building. 

 

Nicole took off her wet coat as she walked up the stairs, moving her purse around and making it impossible for herself to not take ages to get to the third floor.

Once at the right apartment, she knocked hesitantly and the door instantly opened. 

“Hi!“ A young girl opened the door, her dark brown curls framing her beautiful face. The ripped black jeans and the white jumper that was definitely two sizes too big on her made Nicole’s heart stop for a second. 

“Hello?“ She uttered and tried to get herself to move into the apartment. 

“Honey, who is it?“ It was like the thunder and the lightening of the storm outside had found a way in and through Nicole’s body. Her eyes fixed on the girl in front of her, who now looked slightly scared. 

“She said Nicole, a friend of Leah?“ The girl shouted back and moved aside. “You can come in.“ 

“Thanks.“ Nicole nodded carefully but stayed where she was, not a single muscle in her body willing to move.

“Thanks, honey, I’ve got it.“ Leah appeared at the door and send the girl away. “Go help your aunt please.“ 

The girl nodded, looked at Nicole one last time and rushed off back into the apartment.

“I am so sorry, I had no idea when I met you.“ Leah whispered. “She just told me when I got back home from work. You’re still welcome to eat with us.“ Leah smiled carefully and motioned her to come in.

Nicole looked at her, unsure what to say. She couldn’t just turn around and walk away. Not anymore. The girl had seen her and _she_ knew she was at the door. 

“Thanks.“ Nicole nodded and slowly made her way into the apartment. She had thought this day couldn’t any get worse but this dinner invitation had just taken her straight to hell.

 

Leah took Nicole’s coat and nodded her into the living room. Nicole could see how sorry Leah was for the situation but also how unsure she was about it all. 

Nicole moved into the next room, looking into the kitchen the living room opened up into. Nora, the little girl from the coffee shop, came running towards her. She gave Nicole a big hug and looked up at her. 

“You came!“ She smiled brightly and looked into the kitchen. “Mommy she came!“ 

“Nora baby, go help mum in the kitchen okay?“ Nora nodded and took off with Leah into the kitchen. 

“Hey..“ Her voice cut through Nicole’s body like a warm knife cuts through butter. 

“Waverly.“ She was surprised her name made it out of her mouth. She wasn’t sure what to say or do. “I’m sorry. I wouldn’t have said yes if I had known-“

Waverly shook her head and smiled. “It’s alright. You couldn’t have known. You’re here now, so you might as well stay for dinner.“ 

Nicole nodded and looked into the kitchen. “Is that-?“

Waverly turned to see who Nicole was looking at. “Alice, yes.“ 

“She’s grown so much. The last time I saw her-“ Nicole cut herself off, the last time she had seen Alice had been when they had broken up and Waverly had taken off with her 4-year-old niece whom they had been raising together up until that point. That had been eight years ago.

“Yeah…She’s 12 now.“ Waverly stated the obvious, she didn’t know what else to say.

“She looks just like Wynonna“ Nicole smiled at Alice and the girl smiled back. “She recognized me.“

“Of course she did. She knows who you are, she sees your pictures of you all the time and I tell her about you.“ That statement surprised Nicole. “You’re a part of her life.“

“Thank you.“ Nicole smiled carefully without looking at Waverly. She didn’t know what would happen if she looked at her for too long. So she’d rather not test it out.

“Dinner is ready!“ Alice’s voice brought both of them back to reality. Waverly looked at her for a couple of seconds before nodding.

“Thanks, sweetie.“ She watched as Alice went to sit at the table and turned to Nicole. “Come on, let’s eat.“


	2. Part Two.

They had moved to the kitchen with three glasses of wine while the girls had left to go to bed. Nicole felt beyond awkward standing there in the kitchen with her ex and her wife with whom Warverly had a lovely daughter and a seemingly perfect life. 

“Thank you for having me over.“ Nicole said as she helped Leah with the dishwasher.

“Of course, it was lovely to get to know you.“ Leah smiled but Nicole could see that it wasn’t a hundred percent genuine. As weird as it had been for Waverly and her, it must have been a million times harder for Leah to sit through dinner with her wife’s ex. 

Throughout the entire dinner, Nicole had barely looked at Waverly. She just simply didn’t know how to look at her without it being out of place or making anyone uncomfortable. It had been eight years and yet her heart jumped a beat every time Waverly said something. And Nicole knew that even if it had been forty years already her heart would still skip a beat whenever she looked at her. 

“I should go.“ She forced her thoughts aside and managed to put a smile on her face. “Dinner was really nice, thank you.“ 

Waverly and Leah both nodded simultaneously. 

“It was nice to see you again.“ Waverly uttered once they were alone at the door. Although her smile was forced, Nicole knew she wasn’t lying. She looked at her and was surprised to see Waverly look away as her eyes started to water. 

“You too.“ Nicole smiled and quickly brushed her shoulder as a way to say goodbye.

Waverly stood there as she left and slowly closed the door behind Nicole. She had never thought she’d see her again - or at least not like this.

  
****

Leah walked into their room, quietly closing the door behind her.

“So, are we going to talk about what just happened?“ She stood by the dresser, taking off her earrings and looking at her wife who was sat on the bed.

“There’s nothing to talk about“ Waverly forced a smile on her trembling lips and disappeared into the bathroom. 

“Waverly-“

“You couldn’t possibly know it was Nicole, it’s alright. Not your fault.“

“Oh, I know. I wasn’t going to apologize. I was going to say we should talk about this. There was a lot of tension, even Alice asked me if everything was alright.“

Waverly froze in the bathroom doorframe. “She did?“ 

“Yes. She says she remembers Nicole and asked me why she had stopped being around.“ Leah just looked at Waverly as if that would eventually make her talk.

“What did you tell her?“ Waverly just stared back, unsure what to say to her wife.

“That that was a conversation for when she was older.“

“Good-“ Waverly interrupted herself, zoning out as she got into bed and pulled the covers tightly over her body. 

Leah sat down on her side of the bed and reached for Waverly’s hand. 

“I think we should talk about tonight. Something about her seems to still get to you.“ Leah tried again, quickly regretting it as Waverly’s moved her hand away and turned away from her.

“I’d rather not talk about this right now.“ She mumbled, turning off her light and closing her eyes.

“Alright then.“ Leah sighed loudly, getting into bed herself.

Waverly knew that eventually, she would have to talk to Leah about it. And to Alice. But for now, she simply didn’t know what to say. She herself didn’t even know what it had been about that dinner that had put her in such an unrestful place. Yes, Nicole was her ex and yes, she had loved her once. But it had been eight years and she had not expected herself to feel that much, should she see her again. And yet, she had felt everything there had been to feel. Even more than she felt right now lying next to the woman she had promised her life to. 

As much as these thoughts and feelings confused her, Waverly knew all too well that she shouldn’t be having them in the first place. She closed her eyes, forcing the thoughts about Nicole and their past together aside. She wouldn’t let one night ruin what she had built with Leah, the life she had built for herself.

 

It was still dark out when she woke up. Quietly, she freed herself from the hand around her waist and scanned the chair next to the bed for a jumper to throw over her trembling body. She made her way out of the bedroom and down the stairs to the kitchen. Pouring herself a glass of wine, she looked for her phone which she had left on the dinner table. She picked it up and moved to the couch, grabbing a blanket as she sat down. She put the glass down, took the phone into both hands, and scrolled through her contacts until she found what she was looking for. 

It only rang a couple of times before a sleepy but familiar voice answered. 

“Waves? It’s 3 am, is everything alright?“ 

“Yes, yes everything is-“

“Is Alice okay?“ The voice interrupted her and it hit Waverly how scary a call in the middle of the night must be to her sister.

“Yes! Yes, Alice is totally okay. No, I was calling to hear your voice and-“ She stopped for a second, she didn’t even know where to begin.

“And?“

“Nicole had dinner with us today“ She uttered, her voice barely understandable.

“What? How? Why!?“ Wynonna seemed more than confused. So Waverly explained to her. She told her about the coffee shop and how Leah and Nora had met her. How Leah had invited Nicole and how she had told her about it but it had been to late to change their plans with her. How they sat through dinner, with only the girls talking because it had been too awkward for the three of them to say a word. How Nicole hadn’t even looked at her for more than a second. How she was confused by those three hours Nicole had spend back in her life.

“Oh, Waverly…“ And there it was. The pity Waverly had been dreading to hear in her sister’s voice. And just like that, she felt her eyes water up. 

“I don’t know what to do, Wynonna. I can’t tell Leah, it would break her heart. But I can’t sleep 'cause it’s all I can think about. I shouldn’t be thinking about Nicole, I shouldn’t be having feelings for her at all.“ Her confusion slowly turned to anger.

“She was your first love, Waves. You don’t just forget about that person, especially if you loved them as much as you did Nicole.“

“We broke up because it wasn’t working. I stopped loving her a long time ago.“

“No, you tell yourself you’ve stopped loving her. 'Cause that’s what you do, but you never have. You never let yourself deal with those emotions-“

“I can’t deal with them. Not then, and especially not now.“ Waverly interrupted her. The last thing she needed was for Wynonna to tell her to feel something for Nicole again. 

“Waverly-“ Wynonna tried again after a long pause. “You should talk to Nicole.“

“I can’t. I don’t know how or what to say. No, there is nothing to talk about.“

“You’re just scared 'cause you know that if you talk to her you’ll have to face those feelings you have cautiously bottled up and you’ll-“

“No. I can’t. Wynonna, I love my wife. I love our daughter. I love my life as it is. But it’s Nicole. It always has been Nicole. I always knew that I could never see her again. And now that I did, I know why. What I felt for Nicole, what I still feel for her, is so much more than I could ever feel for Leah. And that thought alone makes me the worst person on the planet. I’d give it all up for her, Wynonna. I can’t risk putting myself in a situation where I’d have to choose between what I once had but didn’t work and what I have now and am content with. “ She heard Wynonna softly sigh on the other side of the line. 

“Waves, you and Nicole…what you had was everything anyone could ever want but just like everyone else, you had problems. Just cause Nicole is the love of your life, doesn’t mean your life with Leah is worth any less. But just because you love Leah, doesn’t mean Nicole isn’t the love of your life.“

“That’s not making me want to talk to Nicole.“ Waverly took a sip of the wine she had set aside.

“Nicole was your best friend. That’s why she was everything to you and you everything to her. When you broke up, you didn’t just lose your partner, you lost your best friend. I think you need your best friend."

“I do. I really, really do. I’m just scared- but you’re right. Maybe talking to her might help, I just don't know how.“ Waverly’s thoughts still seemed a mess and her thought process didn’t make much sense to her but she somehow knew that Wynonna was right. She really did need to talk to Nicole. She definitely couldn’t go on like this.

“Good, now go back to bed, and kiss my daughter goodnight for me please.“ She heard her sister’s voice slightly break at the end. 

“I will. Go back to your lizard husband, goodnight.“

“Night.“


End file.
